So, we’ve travelled over 600 Nm since leaving Falmouth on Tuesday and are now west of Finistere, a name that’ll be familiar to anyone who’s ever listened to the shipping forecast. Basically we have crossed Biscay which is always a sailor’s challenge. Nice feeling of accomplishment to have done it safely and something of which I’ve heard many stories, not all of enjoyable passages.

Another name familiar to observers of the weather will be “The Azores High”. This is, obviously, a high pressure weather system that is generally present over or to the south of the Azores islands and which dominates the behaviour of adjacent weather. Its effects will be relevant to us now as we’re about to enter a roughly north / south high that will have light winds but, if we’re to get to Horta, there’s no way around it and that means motoring for a couple of days. The barometer, a nice old fashioned but important brass instrument by the chart table shows the pressure is rising, the wind strength is decreasing and these are all signs that the weather predictions so far are right.

I had wondered if I’d feel scared or perhaps vulnerable out here mikes from anywhere. I was keen to sail far from land to push myself into a place without immediate help, no internet to provide an answer to my questions and just me and the crew to sort out any problems we met.

I’m happy to report that this wonderful boat and the team that we are makes for great confidence. Al Shaheen has crossed many thousands of miles offshore and was built for it. She feels safe and capable. Absolutely in her sweet spot today chomping thru the miles with a decent wind and modest amounts of sail.

It’s often observed that I like nothing better than fixing stuff and there’s no place like a boat for things to go wrong and need improvisation to fix. It might be the newly installed solar panels malfunctioning one day, a problem with the heads another, a glitch with the electronics (yep,same rules apply - restart the machine before calling IT) or an issue with the sails or rigging. If it’s broke it has to be fixed so we carry a large amount of spares but you can’t have a spare everything so self sufficient improvisation is key and we seem good at that.

Loneliness or isolation isn’t an issue as we are bonding well as a team settled now into a 3 hour on 6 hours off routine of watches. Modern Comms means that I can hear the (disappointing as a Hamilton fan) news that he was well beaten by Seb today. Nonetheless in the pitch black at 2 am one left in awe at nature - its complexity, sophistication, power and enormity. Our modest sailing voyage with all the modern Kit we have makes me even more profoundly impressed by those ancient mariners who set off to explore foreign lands of which they knew nothing.
[d]2018-06-11 01:10z